Pineapple

The pineapple fruit (we are probably talking of about 4000 years ago) was used by the indigenous peoples of South America for food, medicine and winemaking, and was grown alongside crops such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, and peanuts. It was particularly suitable for wine production because of its high sugar content, and its year-round availability made its cultivation particularly attractive. Fibers were also obtained from the leaves of the plant, some of which were processed into clothing. In pre-Columbian South America, pineapple fiber was also the material most commonly used for bowstrings. The book, which has a detailed introduction about the history and uses of pineapple, collects from authoritative sources more than 240 possible preparations, to which much more are added (unnumbered, labeled under 'modern') besides the most common kitchen preparations (such as sauces and broths) to prepare the documented dishes.